Challenge Prelims V1.0 – Day 78 – GS Paper (Environment & Ecology)

1. Consider the following nutrient cycles:

1. Nitrogen cycle
2. Sulfur cycle
3. Carbon cycle
4. Phosphorus cycle

How many of the above are gaseous nutrient cycles?

2. How many among the following can produce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) during a carbon cycle?

1. Oxidation by bacteria
2. Photosynthesis by green plants
3. Respiration by animals

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

3. How many of the following are examples of the sedimentary biogeochemical cycle?

1. Nitrogen cycle
2. Carbon cycle
3. Sulphur cycle
4. Phosphorous cycle

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

4. With reference to the phosphorous cycle, consider the following statements:

1. Rocks are the natural reservoir of phosphorous.
2. Phosphorous is primarily exchanged between organisms and the environment through respiration.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

5. Consider the following statements about the Sedimentary Nutrient Cycle:

1. Most sedimentary cycles are generally considered perfect cycles.
2. Its reservoir is the earth’s crust, atmosphere and hydrosphere.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

6. Consider the following statements about the nitrogen cycle:

1. Nitrogen in the atmosphere must be converted into ammonia or nitrates, before it is used as a nutrient by plants or animals.
2. Denitrification is the process through which nitrogen leaves the soil and is released into the atmosphere as nitrogen or nitrous oxide gas.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

7. Consider the following statements with reference to the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs):

1. Carbon dioxide accounts for more than fifty percent of the natural greenhouse effect.
2. Nitrous oxide has a capacity of trapping heat 300 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.
3. Methane gas is emitted from paddy fields and coal mines.

How many of the statements given above are correct?